How exactly should one get into Slayer?

Neil3030

I've been meaning to do so for some time but I've always found the prospect of getting into a band with so many albums quite daunting.

Can anyone single out perhaps one or two of their CDs that a newbie should obtain to get a good grounding?

Karl Hungus

Just get Reign In Blood and South Of Heaven then work from there.

Doctor J

What he said.

After that, Seasons In The Abyss and God Hates Us All would be my choice.

But Reign In Blood and South Of Heaven first. Definitely.

Neil3030

Excellent. Shall do. Cheers boys.

Mr. CooL ICE

Ooh, i dunno. My first slayer album was Reign In Blood and it took me quite some time to get into them. I really think Seasons would be the place to start, and then get Reign and South after that.

Mr. CooL ICE

And speaking of which, KH is always shouting about Death, and i cant get any MP3s from the net to sample them, so if i was to order one album, what would it be?

Geiger

I'd start with Seasons In The Abyss. You might have heard the title track before so that's a start. Reign In Blood in a great album, fast and heavy, but they never made anything as intense after it. At least if you like Seasons you'll probably like South of Heaven as well. Depends how you like your trash really. You can't go wrong checking out any of those Cds.

Geiger

LordChessington wrote:

And speaking of which, KH is always shouting about Death, and i cant get any MP3s from the net to sample them, so if i was to order one album, what would it be?

Try, Death - Individual Thought Patterns

Edit: Go here http://www.cduniverse.com/sresult.asp?style=music&HT_SEARCH=XARTIST&cart=253670129&HT_SEARCH_INFO=Death&HT_Search_Name=Death&altsearch=yes

You can get short preview clips of each album marked with a music symbol.

Karl Hungus

LordChessington wrote:

And speaking of which, KH is always shouting about Death, and i cant get any MP3s from the net to sample them, so if i was to order one album, what would it be?

I'd say get Symbolic, that was my first Death album, and christ I was blown away!

Doctor J

Meh, Death's discography reads like a story. To jump in at the middle would be rash. Personally, I'd say buy them all at once and work from start to finish. The evolution of Death, the way the band grew and the way the sound evolved over a short period of time is simply astonishing. To fully appreciate one album, you must first be familiar with where it came from.

Starting off with Scream Bloody Gore, this is raw and quite unrefined, the song Zombie Ritual being the only one that survived in a live setting to the end of the bands career, it was an indicator of where Chuck was going. Next up, Leprosy, a monster of an album. This is where I first got into Death. At the time, there really was nothing quite like the sound of this album. It is an excellent place to start with Death. Ferociously brutal, the Kerry King style playing of Rick Rozz beautifully foiled by Chuck's clean and rapidly developing melodic style. The songs are heavy and brutal, there is no let up, it's a truly classic album. After that, Spiritual Healing's clean sound came as quite a shock. The sound had deviated in a more technical and precise way, a much more focussed effort featuring the excellent James Muphy on guitar. Next up, my own personal favourite and, in my opinion, one of the greatest albums ever on a par with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Master Of Puppets, Number Of The Beast. At the time, there was a bust up between Chuck and the band. James Murphy had left and the band were supposed to tour Europe supporting Kreator. At the last moment, feeling the band was totally underprepared, Chuck bailed out and the band toured without him (I saw the gig here and enjoyable as it was, it wasn't Death) which pretty much split the band up. The bass player and drummer joined Rick Rozz and formed Massacre and everybody said Chuck was finished. Oh how they were wrong. I still remember the first time I heard Human and to this day, it still thrills me with every single listen. Honestly, this album changed my life. Chuck enlisted the help of Steve DiGeorgio on bass and Paul and Sean from the then unknown Cynic on guitar and drums as a session band and unleashed one of the most brutal and technical albums you'll ever hear. To me, the standard of drumming on this album has never been bettered. There isn't a weak second to be found. This is the perfect blend of ferocious heaviness and staggering technicality. When put in context to the two albums which preceded it, you get a true appreciation of the genius and vision behind it's creation and that is the beauty of it. I saw this band play on the Human tour and all I can say is it was an honour to be there. Really, this is the one as far as I'm concerned but the pleasure is enhanced by seeing the development of the band in those two and a half years. After that Individual Thought Patterns followed. To me, it's a quality album but will always be in the shadow of Human, despite featruing some of Chuck's best songs. Symbolic after that, one of Death's best and most consistant, possibly the only one comparable to Human in terms of blending technical and bruatal, featuring some fantastic drumming by Gene Hoglan. The Sound Of Perseverance followed a complicated and drawn out period. This is a good album with some excellent moments but to me is probably the weakest since the debut.

Sorry if I rambled there. I've been a huge fan of Death since 1989 when I first heard Open Casket on the radio. Chuck Schuldiner was every bit as important to the development of music as anyone you could mention, a true genius in my eyes. His legacy is a collection of vastly different but entirely excellent music. If I was forced to pick one, it would have to be Human but there are few bands who grew in the way Death did and you get a finer appreciation of the albums knowing what came before.

Beekay

^^ i don't think anyone could make it any clearer,To be honest^^

My first listen to Slayer was South of Heaven,but i recommend Seasons...
because it has the speed of Reign and the slowness of South

Ancient1

Amen to Doc's eulogy to Death - i agree 100% that you have to hear his work in in toto.

As for Slayer, i'd say you need a fix of Hell Awaits for that real, vintage Slayer darkness!

Tar.Aldarion

seasons for my 2 cent what an album!

nosmo

At the risk of continuing the hijacking of this thread, I'll have to agree with Doctor J, Leprosy has to be one of the most overlooked metal classics out there.

Diarmuid

Reign in Blood. It's really stands out against the rest of their discography (not saying the rest is average but that RIB is sooooo good.)

Tar.Aldarion

haha...broken!

John

As for Slayer, in my opinion one of their albums will do you fine. If you get Reign In Blood there's no point buying any others because you'll just be disappointed.

As for Death, I bought Scream Bloody Gore today and I must say it's very good. Will be looking out for the rest of their CDs.

cournioni

I'd recommend Seasons in the Abyss to get you started off, simply because it is the easiest to get into. Then once you like that you should move onto Reign in Blood and South of Heaven. Reign in Blood might take a while to get into if you've never heard Slayer before.

grimloch

My first was diablous in musica and I thought it was allright, took me some time before I got my hands on reign in blood which I thought was fantastic.

Tar.Aldarion

diablous in musica is great too
i think seasons pips it as their best album

Geiger

Diablous is the only Slayer album I haven't heard, is it worth checking out?

Lex Luthor

While you're at it, get Sepultura - Arise & Testament - The New Order

:cool:

Ph3n0m

and while we are just throwing out bands why not pick up

DeathAngel, DarkAngel, Acid Regin, Xentrix, Lawnmower Deth, Kreator, Machine Head, Obituary, Opeth, Nile, Grave, Third Moon, Pestilence, SOD, MOD, Anthrax, Sacred Reich, Exodus, Sentenced, Sodom, Suicidal Tendencies, Vader, The Crown, Cryptopsy, Carcass, Bolt Thrower, Annihilator, Arch Enemy


Those bands should prove a good starter

Neil3030

I'm confused here, I have to listen to all of those bands as a starter for Slayer???

Lex Luthor

Neil3030 wrote:

I'm confused here, I have to listen to all of those bands as a starter for Slayer???

No, but if you like Slayer, you'll love those 2 albums I have recommended above.
Sepultura for the guitar riffs and drums and Testament for the lead guitars

Ph3n0m

Neil3030 wrote:

I'm confused here, I have to listen to all of those bands as a starter for Slayer???

Nope, just felt like hijacking the thread and showing that there is more to life then just Slayer

Civilian_Target

I'm just getting into Slayer now really - God Hates us all is good, as is Reign in Blood. They're the only 2 I have.

Deadwing

First off, congratulations to the op on your choice of best new band (TM) im sure you wont be disappointed
Id say definitely get seasons in the abyss first, its easily thier most accessible album, then get a copy of reign in blood, if only for angel of death

OLDYELLAR

Id defo say go for seasons in the abyss first too , excellent album and easy to listen to .

Padraig Mor

Agree with the Seasons.... people.

Tar.Aldarion

Padraig Mor wrote:

Agree with the Seasons.... people.

seonded again....also listen to carcass,anthrax,sepultura and hmm suicidal tendencies for now but slayer will be the best!